We've had Chrysler Town and Country since October and I love it. It is our first minivan. I test drove, the Sienna, and the Odyssey as well. Ideally I would have had the handling of the Sienna with the convenience and size of the T&C. Toyota was completely inflexible on the price. I've driven multiple Toyotas in the past but my last two experiences at the dealerships have been very bad. They seem to have this attitude of - We're Toyota, you should be grateful we're letting you buy one of our cars! The Odyssey ended up being out of our price range and besides - it was actually quite small and cramped inside. I have a 2yo and a 4yo both in large heavy carseats and we're planning on a third. I also drive my 75+ grandparents around and they have trouble getting in and out of cars. I wanted a van with multiple seating options and a center path for my grandparents to get to the back of the van. You can't pull the second row seats forward and squeeze through to the back when there are carseats in them in ANY of the current minivans and there was hardly room to pass through anyway so I am glad we got the 7 passenger. I love the convenience of the T&C. We are renovating our basement and we do a lot of clothing toy swaps and hauling for our homeschool group and the T&C is the only van whose second and third row seats completely disappear into the floor of the van. The salesman bragged that we could fit a 4 x 8 foot piece of plywood back there and he wasn't kidding. The T&C also had the easiest 3rd row "stow and go" of all the vans I saw. The Sienna was so difficult to maneuver I needed both hands and all of my reasonably substantial body weight to stow them. The Odyssey was so complicated that the salesman didn't even know how to maneuver them. I was imagining holding a toddler or baby and grocery bags and having to put everything down to put the bags in the trunk. With the T&C I can do it with one hand. I also love the multiple ways of opening the doors and the many mom-approved touches. The kids love it. It's wonderful and the monthly payments are less than out last car - a Saturn Aura. Good Luck!
post #21 of 21
2/15/11 at 11:40am
